Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Feb 1990
Case ReportsSpondylitis without epidural abscess formation following short-term use of an epidural catheter.
A 42-year-old patient had undergone total hip replacement for aseptic femoral head necrosis 9 years previously. He now presented with loosening of the prosthesis and pseudoarthrosis sustained following a femoral shaft fracture 7 months earlier. A total hip replacement was carried out in general anaesthesia combined with an epidural catheter. ⋯ Antibiotic therapy was begun immediately but could not prevent spread of infection to the adjacent disc-space T12/L1 and the vertebral body T12. The patient made a slow recovery and was discharged in a satisfactory condition wearing a lumbar brace some 9 months after the operation. No evidence of epidural abscess formation was found at any stage and no direct connection between the use of the epidural catheter and spondylitis could be established.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Feb 1990
The effect on uteroplacental blood flow of epidural anaesthesia containing adrenaline for caesarean section.
The effect on uteroplacental blood flow of an epidural anaesthesia containing adrenaline for caesarean section was investigated in ten healthy women using dynamic placental scintigraphy with indium-113m and a computer-linked gamma camera. The epidural anaesthesia was performed with 18-22 ml bupivacaine 5 mg/ml with adrenaline 2.5 micrograms/ml followed by an i.v. balanced electrolyte infusion of 10 ml/kg b.w. A significant median decrease in the total maternal placental blood flow of 34% was found (P less than 0.01). There was also a significant decrease in maternal mean blood pressure of 3 mmHg (0.4 kPa) (P less than 0.05) and a significant negative correlation between the change in maternal blood pressure and the change in uteroplacental blood flow (r = -0.69, P less than 0.05).
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Feb 1990
Uteroplacental blood flow measured by placental scintigraphy during epidural anaesthesia for caesarean section.
The uteroplacental blood flow was measured before and during epidural anaesthesia for caesarean section in 11 women. The blood flow was measured with dynamic placental scintigraphy. After an i.v. injection of indium-113m chloride, the gamma radiation over the placenta was recorded with a computer-linked scintillation camera. ⋯ The anaesthesia was performed with bupivacaine plain 0.5%, 18-22 ml and a preload of a balanced electrolyte solution 10 ml/kg b.w. was given. The placental blood flow decreased in eight patients and increased in three with a median change of -21%, not being statistically significant. No correlation between maternal blood pressure and placental blood flow was found.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialSublingual buprenorphine as postoperative analgesic: a double-blind comparison with pethidine.
Buprenorphine and pethidine as postoperative analgesics were compared in 96 women having gynaecological operations by lower laparotomy. A fixed dose of the respective drug was given in a double-blind and double-dummy manner, initially intramuscularly and thereafter by sublingual buprenorphine (0.4 mg) or intramuscular pethidine (75 mg) at the request of the patient during the first 24 h postoperatively. ⋯ There were no significant differences between the groups regarding respiratory depression and nausea. It appears that sublingual buprenorphine is as effective and safe as intramuscular pethidine in the postoperative period.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialDoes ephedrine influence newborn neurobehavioural responses and spectral EEG when used to prevent maternal hypotension during caesarean section?
The recovery of 16 infants born by elective caesarean section with spinal anaesthesia, in which either ephedrine or fluid load was used to prevent maternal hypotension, were studied using Scanlon's neurobehavioural tests and a computerized EEG. Neurobehavioural testing showed no differences between the ephedrine and the non-ephedrine groups of infants at ages of 3 h, 1 day, 2 days and 4-5 days, whereas the spectral EEG showed significant differences between the two groups during the first 2 h after delivery, which had disappeared 24 h later. It is suggested that small doses of ephedrine given to the mother i.v. to prevent hypotension during spinal anaesthesia have short-lived effects on the neonate's central nervous system, which will be detected in the spectral EEG, but not in neurobehavioural tests.